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[Tribes 3: Rivals] Early access launched too early

ZekZek Registered User regular
edited March 13 in Games and Technology
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2687970/TRIBES_3_Rivals/

Tribes 3: Rivals is a real deal new Tribes game, coming from Prophecy Games, a subsidiary of Hi-Rez. Not a lot is known about it, but the devs are active on Discord and will be holding public tests: https://discord.gg/eECYyqPu
  • Dynamic Movement: Jetpack flight and skiing allow unparalleled freedom and fluidity in movement across the battlefield.
  • Capture the Flag: The core of the game lies in its intense team based capture-the-flag mode, demanding individual skill along with strategic team play.
  • Stunning Environments: Navigate beautiful and complex maps from arid deserts to icy mountains, each designed to offer a different gameplay experience.
  • Loadout Customization: Tailor your character with a wide array of weapons, skins, perks, and abilities, offering endless ways to compete and strategize.
  • Class Based Gameplay: Light, medium, and heavy classes allow you to play your way. Light classes excel in speed, medium classes offer mobility and firepower, and heavy classes bring formidable armor and weapons to the fray.
  • Custom Matches, Modes, and UGC: Users will be able to create custom matches that offer different team sizes and weapon loadouts, custom modes that alter the game’s core physics such as gravity and player speed, and generate their own content such as customized maps and environments.
  • Community Focused Development: The game is crafted with input from the TRIBES community, ensuring an experience that honors the series' legacy while introducing fresh elements to keep gameplay exciting and engaging.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9bvc1RyeME

Zek on
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Posts

  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    OH MY GOD

    please dont fuck this up again, hirez

    this is a discord of mostly PA people interested in fighting games: https://discord.gg/DZWa97d5rz

    we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
  • FiatilFiatil Registered User regular
    The playtest being a 5v5 and the subtitle of "Rivals" (which seems to indicate more smallscale, just a guess) has me skeptical.

    I would love for it to be awesome! But that stuff + Hi Rez's obsession with competitive/MOBA stuff has me being pretty cautious on this one.

    steam_sig.png
  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit!

  • ZekZek Registered User regular
    Fiatil wrote: »
    The playtest being a 5v5 and the subtitle of "Rivals" (which seems to indicate more smallscale, just a guess) has me skeptical.

    I would love for it to be awesome! But that stuff + Hi Rez's obsession with competitive/MOBA stuff has me being pretty cautious on this one.

    They may well make that the competitive focus, but Tribes would be a weird franchise to hard limit to 5v5 because that necessarily puts a limit on franchise staples like large maps and vehicles. I expect there'll be modes with more players.

  • FiatilFiatil Registered User regular
    I hope you're right! Because yeah I need some scale and vehicles.

    steam_sig.png
  • SniperGuySniperGuy SniperGuyGaming Registered User regular
    SHAZBOT

    please be good please be good

  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    edited November 2023
    Midair 2 is running playtest weekends:
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1231210/Midair_2/
    Looks like you pick up playtest keys through a discord bot from there.

    Midair still exists too.

    I am unenthused about Hi-rez anything.

    Like, the video above looks very pretty, and has the right physics.
    But I'm betting they will monetise the loadouts again, ruining the game utterly.

    discrider on
  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    edited November 2023
    I'm being too harsh there.
    The actual cardinal sin of Ascend was regenerating health, and I can't see that in the video above.
    So maybe they've got it right this time..
    Can't remember if the flag bearers regened in Ascend (probably not?), and they're the only ones that aren't chipped long enough to potentially Regen.
    But most everyone seemed to be starting with chip damage, so..

    Locking the disc launcher behind microtransactions was pretty frustrating though, but not game breaking.

    discrider on
  • FiatilFiatil Registered User regular
    I just want to be able to ignore the flag the entire match and run people over with a hoverbike.

    Please give me my wish.

    steam_sig.png
  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    I could stand to run the flag again whilst Heavy, certainly.
    Your forcefields cannot stop the chonk.

  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    discrider wrote: »
    I could stand to run the flag again whilst Heavy, certainly.
    Your forcefields cannot stop the chonk.

    The heavier you are the harder you are to stop skiing.

  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    discrider wrote: »
    I'm being too harsh there.
    The actual cardinal sin of Ascend was regenerating health, and I can't see that in the video above.
    So maybe they've got it right this time..
    Can't remember if the flag bearers regened in Ascend (probably not?), and they're the only ones that aren't chipped long enough to potentially Regen.
    But most everyone seemed to be starting with chip damage, so..

    Locking the disc launcher behind microtransactions was pretty frustrating though, but not game breaking.

    no no, no need to beat around the bush, their monetization scheme for ascend was utterly fucking batshit.... they priced it out like every loadout was a moba champ

    the demo footage looks pretty barebones to me.. like yeah there's a spinfusor and a chaingun with a patently absurd ammo counter LCD display (is design just dead now?), but low player count and a simple looking map

    i would like to see the dream of tribes 2 fully realized, a slower more tactical game, but i recognize thats probably never going to happen without mods

    the only other thing i'd really like to see out of this is the death of independent server lists... i used to think this was a lost treasure of a bygone era but one of my favorite games, Hell Let Loose, still uses this server setup and its easily the fucking worst thing in the game.

    i just want a button that says "Play Now", fuck all this clan server bullshit

    this is a discord of mostly PA people interested in fighting games: https://discord.gg/DZWa97d5rz

    we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
  • FiatilFiatil Registered User regular
    @SniperGuy informs me the developers have said there will indeed be big ol' 64 player maps.

    This is good.

    steam_sig.png
  • SniperGuySniperGuy SniperGuyGaming Registered User regular
    Yes indeed, in the Discord.

    guvmlid4vsk9.png

  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    Shadowfire wrote: »
    discrider wrote: »
    I could stand to run the flag again whilst Heavy, certainly.
    Your forcefields cannot stop the chonk.

    The heavier you are the harder you are to stop skiing.

    So long as you're not running front to back.
    Watching the video above, where they were doing solely that, was more annoying than I'd like to admit.

  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    SniperGuy wrote: »
    Yes indeed, in the Discord.

    guvmlid4vsk9.png

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYKBXut7_cI

    this is a discord of mostly PA people interested in fighting games: https://discord.gg/DZWa97d5rz

    we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
  • ZekZek Registered User regular
    Steam page is up and invites are going out: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2687970/TRIBES_3_Rivals/

  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    official website with a beta signup https://www.tribes3rivals.com/

    no other details on the site

    this is a discord of mostly PA people interested in fighting games: https://discord.gg/DZWa97d5rz

    we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
  • FiatilFiatil Registered User regular
    That's great news. I would much rather pay $20 upfront and be done on the content side than have to pay for weapons and classes and stuff.

    steam_sig.png
  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    if you're not already signed up their 90 million communication channels, there's a beta this weekend and you can request access directly via steam

    im really happy they're moving straight to this instead of making me suffer in anticipation for 2 years like all the other tribes releases

    this is a discord of mostly PA people interested in fighting games: https://discord.gg/DZWa97d5rz

    we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    i got into the beta (alpha?) within like 20 minutes. its only 5v5 for the alpha

    overall pretty stable and ran ok for an alpha. a little bit of awkward lag during high action moments but overall not bad considering how early things are

    interesting tribes-y tidbits

    sniper is only available on medium armor
    medium armor in general has a pretty great kit (tribes designers historically DESPERATE to make medium armor relevant), the medium-only grenade launcher is berserk.... like if you guys remember ultra renegades...... yeah
    chaingun is only available on heavy and seems to be meant for some sort of HoF option

    flag hitboxes are currently massive so HoF doesn't really feel possible, you have to be in the same zipcode as the flag and you pick it up

    there are vehicle models laying around the maps but no controllable vehicles, but maybe a hint at what is to come.... its a wheeled ground vehicle that looks kind of like a tank

    this is a discord of mostly PA people interested in fighting games: https://discord.gg/DZWa97d5rz

    we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
  • SniperGuySniperGuy SniperGuyGaming Registered User regular
    12v12 is there, you have to click custom game and queue for it that way. Its better than 5v5 but the jetpacks still feel too anemic.

  • Phoenix-DPhoenix-D Registered User regular
    Not of a fan of the making your Steam username your player name with no way to change it.

  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    edited December 2023
    Lol.

    Is that not the way usernames were intended?

    discrider on
  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User, Moderator mod
    is it your actual steam account name or your steam nickname? because you can just change your steam nickname whenever you want

    BahamutZERO.gif
  • Phoenix-DPhoenix-D Registered User regular
    edited December 2023
    Anyway got a chance to actually play a bit last night and I like it. They definitely need more 12v12 maps though, the one in now of very dire.

    Multiple levels linked by a single jump pad shaft, but open to the outside on all levels too. The jump pad was annoying to deal with and raining death from above means keeping the generator up is damn near impossible.

    I'd love the repair torch to be just a thing you can do instead of an item pick too.

    Phoenix-D on
  • discriderdiscrider Registered User regular
    edited December 2023
    Yeah, it's always been a bit of a pain to get the repair pack, but I'm not sure I'm enamored to people in full kit noting that the gen is down and then rocking a shield pack in to repair.
    Bit different if the gen is down for a while and people don't need to go past the pack to repair whilst in standard outfit though.

    Maybe just let people spawn in with the repair pack even when the gen is down.

    discrider on
  • Phoenix-DPhoenix-D Registered User regular
    10 kills in a match, 6 from people not looking for the mines on the flag.

    Literally the most obvious place to put them but BOOM can't BOOM be BOOM bothered to check. haha

  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    Geez, you always hit the flag with a disc on the way in. Kids these days.

  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    Shadowfire wrote: »
    Geez, you always hit the flag with a disc on the way in. Kids these days.

    In fairness, it's almost been long enough since Tribes was a big thing that people who played it when it was popular could've had their own kid and the kid could've gone to college and graduated and gotten a job working on this game.

  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    Shadowfire wrote: »
    Geez, you always hit the flag with a disc on the way in. Kids these days.

    In fairness, it's almost been long enough since Tribes was a big thing that people who played it when it was popular could've had their own kid and the kid could've gone to college and graduated and gotten a job working on this game.

    Let me shake my fist at the guy with a jetpack in the cloud.

  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    it is weird to think how old this franchise is and honestly i question if it has any culture cache at all anymore... if you dismiss Ascend (which I do) as just an ill-conceived abandonware... then the last time Tribes had a real normal studio release was.... 2004... with Vengeance.... the last Tribes game is old enough to vote

    so when I see 5000 people in the discord im like... these are the last dads left who are still playing shooters...

    which also raises the question of why they seem to be angling to "esports" the format with a 5v5 ranked mode for an audience whose average age must be like 37 or something

    its still an alpha, still very early. i hope they do something to wow me

    this is a discord of mostly PA people interested in fighting games: https://discord.gg/DZWa97d5rz

    we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
  • kaidkaid Registered User regular
    Shadowfire wrote: »
    Geez, you always hit the flag with a disc on the way in. Kids these days.

    Yup you disk the flag as you are coming in hot is the tribes way.

  • taliosfalcontaliosfalcon Registered User regular
    Jasconius wrote: »
    it is weird to think how old this franchise is and honestly i question if it has any culture cache at all anymore... if you dismiss Ascend (which I do) as just an ill-conceived abandonware... then the last time Tribes had a real normal studio release was.... 2004... with Vengeance.... the last Tribes game is old enough to vote

    so when I see 5000 people in the discord im like... these are the last dads left who are still playing shooters...

    which also raises the question of why they seem to be angling to "esports" the format with a 5v5 ranked mode for an audience whose average age must be like 37 or something

    its still an alpha, still very early. i hope they do something to wow me

    While you're not wrong, i still feel called out and attacked :pensive:

    steam xbox - adeptpenguin
  • cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    Yeah, Penny Arcade is probably the only reason I've heard of Tribes.

  • FiatilFiatil Registered User regular
    I thought everyone knew what Tribes was because of the smash hit theme song by Motley Crue:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-uHSx-YrSA

    steam_sig.png
  • FiatilFiatil Registered User regular
    So this game is like..out now?

    The reception so far appears terrible. It sounds like my fears of focusing on e-sportsey small matches were all too accurate and there just are no big vehicle-ey maps to make it feel like Tribes yet.

    It's early access but that feels like begging for the game's community to die out entirely before it ever makes it to 1.0.

    steam_sig.png
  • Phoenix-DPhoenix-D Registered User regular
    We use AI to pre-generate some in-game banners and icons. Some of this generated content is used as reference and then modified by our in-house art team.

    Note that they *charge* for these AI-generated banners. Also according to reviews all the game modes except CTF might be gone? The beta had bombing run and a dog-tag like mode.

    Seems it's going to fizzle on launch. Shame.

  • ZekZek Registered User regular
    Once you introduce monetization to a game, the community's willingness to tolerate "it's early access" as an excuse is going to evaporate instantly. Nobody is going to give them the benefit of the doubt on anything now - that was a big miscalculation on their part, regardless of their future plans for the game. And it reeks of desperation for funding, making me now worry about whether they'll even stick it out long enough to finish the game with the EA launch being poorly received.

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